LIVERPOOL, Dec 05, 2014 :  Brendan Rodgers admits Liverpool hit rock bottom last month but the Reds manager is confident surviving such a tumultuous period will be the making of his players.

Rodgers’ side lost three successive Premier League matches for the first
time in his two-and-a-half-year reign as a nightmare run threatened to ruin
Liverpool’s season.

The former Swansea boss found himself under pressure as a result, with
questions from fans and media over whether he was the right man to lead
Liverpool out of the crisis.

But the Reds responded positively to end November with a battling 2-2
Champions League draw against Bulgarian side Ludogorets and then a 1-0 league
win over Stoke last weekend.

Liverpool followed that with a more convincing 3-1 victory at Leicester in
midweek and Rodgers says morale at Anfield has improved significantly ahead
of Saturday’s home clash with Sunderland.

“We were at a low as everyone saw,” Rodgers said. “We had set such high
standards here over the past couple of years and we had fallen way below
that.

“I felt the performance levels weren’t quite right. But I felt the change
after that. I felt that could be the making of us.

“Our last two performances have shown we have got that character.

“That period where we hadn’t won, we had some decent performances but
ultimately we’re in the business of winning.”

Liverpool now face a defining month as they look to make up ground in the
Premier League starting with the visit of Sunderland, before matches against
Manchester United and Arsenal.

They also face Swiss side FC Basel knowing victory is required to reach the
last 16 of the Champions League next week, and travel to Bournemouth in the
League Cup quarter-finals a week after that.

“The feeling is certainly different now,” Rodgers added. “For us we just
need to go game by game. That’s how you build runs and momentum.

“It was the same last year when we won 11 games in a row. The feeling now
is much different on the training field and in the changing room.”

– Bouncing back –

Liverpool are still without Italian striker Mario Balotelli (groin) and
will assess knee injuries picked up by midfielder Philippe Coutinho and left-
back Jose Enrique.

Long-term absentees Daniel Sturridge (thigh), Mamadou Sakho (hip) and Jon
Flanagan (knee) all remain on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Sunderland manager Gus Poyet says his side must show the right
kind of mentality as they look to end their long winless run at Anfield.

The Black Cats haven’t beaten Liverpool on Merseyside since October 1983,
and are intent on bouncing back quickly from the 4-1 midweek home defeat to
Manchester City that left them two points above the relegation zone.

Poyet, whose side have won one of their last seven games, is set to ring
the changes as his squad faces the third of the Premier League’s four
Champions League sides in succession.

“I’m trying to create a new mentality here. I need to get people to break
away from the idea that just because we’re playing a top team that we can
accept a defeat,” Poyet said.

“I don’t see how you can convince yourself you’re going to win a game if
you think it doesn’t matter if you lose.

“It’s a mental thing, and the more the players get the idea that we can’t
accept defeat to anyone, the easier it becomes to approach each game with a
belief we can win.”

Winger Adam Johnson, centre-back Wes Brown and midfielder Jordi Gomez are
set to return to the starting line-up after missing out against City.

Will Buckley, Sebastian Coates, and Jack Rodwell are the players expected to make way.